Information storage devices are used to retrieve and/or store data in computers and other consumer electronics devices. A magnetic hard disk drive is an example of an information storage device that includes one or more heads that can both read and write to a spinning disk media, but other information storage devices also include heads—sometimes including heads that cannot write.
Disk drives may be hermetically sealed, for example so that an alternative gas (e.g. helium) can be retained within the disk drive. In such hermetically sealed disk drives, humidity that enters during manufacture may be trapped inside thereafter. Such humidity may condense at reduced temperatures, causing undesired water particles or droplet within the disk drive. Even in non-hermetically sealed disk drives, the disk drive reliability may be enhanced by control of humidity within the disk drive enclosure, since such humidity may otherwise adversely affect the head/disk interface. For example, disk drives have been manufactured with internal desiccant materials within, to reduce the accumulation of moisture and the risk of water particles or droplets reaching the head/disk interface.
However, during disk drive manufacture, there is often a period after installation of a desiccant material into the disk drive, but before finally sealing the disk drive enclosure. During that period, the desiccant material may be degraded by humidity in the manufacturing environment (e.g. clean room moisture absorption by the desiccant). Hence there is a need in the art for a means to preserve a desiccant material for a longer period during the disk drive manufacturing process.